Inside Iowa State: Iowa State University

INSIDE IOWA STATE
April 5, 2002

New policy for non-tenure track faculty takes effect this fall

by Linda Charles
This fall, a new system for non-tenure-track faculty will be implemented. Inside asked associate provost Susan Carlson about the new policy and what effect it will have on faculty and the university.

Q. How did the new non-tenure-track faculty policy come about?
A. Both faculty and the administration have agreed for a long time that something needed to be done to provide those in temporary positions some job security and provide for their advancement. A Faculty Senate committee did a comprehensive study of the situation and proposed a policy. The senate approved a final version early this year, which subsequently was approved by the provost and the president.

Q. What are the main changes under the new policy?
A. The new policy creates four titles for non-tenure-track faculty (lecturer, clinician, senior lecturer and senior clinician), and provides a system for review and advancement of non-tenure-track faculty.

Q. What's the difference between lecturer/clinician and the senior positions?
A. Lecturers and clinicians may be hired for up to three years, with their contracts renewed up to a total of six years. Those who have been in the lecturer and clinician positions for six years may be advanced to the senior positions. Those in senior positions may be hired for up to five-year periods and their contracts can be renewed indefinitely, when they perform well and the department continues to need their services.

Q. How is this different from the current system for temporary faculty?
A. Currently, temporary faculty can work for the university full time for a total of six years. After that, they have to either move on or be hired part time. The new system allows people to continue working for the university full time beyond the six-year limit.

Q. What happens if a department no longer needs the services of a non-tenure-track faculty member?
A. Lecturers and clinicians are hired for "term appointments," which means their contracts run a specific number of years (up to three). Departments need not notify lecturers and clinicians if their contracts won't be renewed for a second term. However, departments must give senior lecturers and clinicians a year's notice if they don't plan to renew the contracts.

Q. Will those who are temporary faculty now automatically be transferred to the new positions?
A. No. Open searches will be held and those in temporary positions will need to apply. Because the non-tenure-track positions have the potential for long-term employment, affirmative action and other human services guidelines must be met. But it is likely that a large number of those holding temporary positions now will be hired for the newly titled positions.

Under the new policy, tenure-line faculty will be responsible for selecting, reviewing and renewing non-tenure-track faculty appointments (not always the case now).

Q. What sort of review will there be for non-tenure-track faculty?
A. All departments (and perhaps some of the colleges) will develop their own policies for review and advancement. Those policies must be in place by March 2003. Non-tenure-track faculty will have position responsibility statements, similar to those of tenure-track faculty, and will be reviewed on those statements.

Q. Will some of the temporary faculty who have been with the university for several years be hired into the senior positions?
A. Not at first, since the departments will not have their review and advancement systems in place until next spring. However, some non-tenure-track faculty may move to the senior positions in the fall of 2003, if their departments choose to exercise this option.

Q. Are there limits to the number of lecturers and clinicians that may be hired?
A. Yes. The new policy limits non-tenure-track faculty to 25 percent of the faculty in departments and 15 percent of the faculty in the university overall. Departments that exceed this percentage may make their case to the provost and Faculty Senate, who will decide the appeal jointly.

Q. Is there a limit on how many senior positions a department can have?
A. No. Departments can hire senior lecturers and clinicians as they need them to fulfill their academic responsibilities, as long as the number of non-tenure-track faculty does not exceed the recommended percentages. Departments will make their decisions about hiring lecturers and clinicians based on an appraisal of the department's needs and its personnel. The new policy should allow departments to do more long-range planning.

Q. How does the new policy affect adjunct professors?
A. At this time, the status of adjunct faculty will remain unchanged. The Faculty Senate and the provost are studying the way adjunct professors are hired and may make a recommendation for change in the future.

Q. Will the new system for non-tenure-track faculty have any budgetary impact?
A. Not at first, since all non-tenure-track faculty will be hired at the lecturer and clinician level. The pay for those levels is expected to be comparable to what temporary faculty receive now. However, it is our hope that non-tenure-track faculty will advance in their departments, and this could have an impact on future university and departmental budgets.

Q. Where can I get more information about the non-tenure-track policy?
A. Questions should be directed to Susan Carlson, associate provost, 1550 Beardshear, 4-9556, e-mail: susanc@iastate.edu